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joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam
The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.
Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.
Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!
Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.
Click here to report a problem with this page.
Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:
- This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "million us dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Gen Adam Nelson <yumiu@takaja.jp>
Reply-To: gen.adamn@outlook.com
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2023 13:21:20 -0700
Subject: THIS IS MY THIRD TIME CONTACTING YOU
--
Greeting,
I am General Adam Nelson, one of the Commanding generals in the U.S Army
and presently serving in Syria.
Please I urgently need you to help me safeguard an amount of money I
have
here in my possession which is worth the sum of Nineteen million US
Dollars ($19 Million).
I came across this mega cash during an operation. You may have heard
about
one of the heaviest attack we had that neutralized hundreds of ISIS
terrorists in the past few months and it was during this operation that
we
discovered this huge amount which we later distributed among the top
officers present during the operations. Considering how horrible and
risky
it is here in this military camp, I deemed it necessary to look out for
a
trusted fellow who would assist me in safeguarding the cash until I get
out of this horrible zone. It was to this effect that I started
searching
online for an honest person whom I can trust to help me safeguard the
cash
and I came across your mail address and I want to know if you are
willing
to help me do this.
I want you to know that I am willing to offer you 35%-Percent of the
total
amount if you do help me safeguard this money and get it out of here, I
will email you the details on how I plan on moving the cash out of this
place as soon as I receive your response.
Please get back to me ASAP
Thank you
Gen. Adam Nelson
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